Lanka appoint lawyer to investigate allegations
Sri Lankan cricket officials on Monday appointed a prominent lawyer to look into
allegations that two of the country's top players were
involved in match-fixing.
The allegations against former captains Arjuna
Ranatunga and Aravinda DeSilva were made in a report
released last week by the Indian Central Bureau of
Investigation.
Board of Control for Cricket in Sri Lanka president Thilanga Sumathipala told a news conference
that Desmond Fernando would investigate.
He said Fernando's task was "to look into questions
arising from the CBI report and to advise the BCCSL as
to whether there is prima facie evidence of violation of the
rules of the board" by current or former players.
Sumathipala said the report by Fernando, the BCCSL's
member on the ICC code of conduct commission, would
also be given to the country's sports minister "for him to
take appropriate action under...the prevailing laws in the
country".
Fernando has 30 days from Tuesday to finish the report,
and Sumathipala said he would look at matches going
back at least 10 years.
The CBI said Ranatunga and DeSilva are among nine
non-Indian players who had either been offered or paid
money by Indian bookmakers, allegations which shocked
the cricket world.
"It was a dark day to hear that from a Sri Lankan cricket
point of view," said Sumathipala, who added the two
players had denied the allegations to his face.
"Yes they did, both of them, point blank," he said.
Ranatunga is retired but Sumathipala said de Silva was
still eligible for selection as he is "innocent until proven
guilty".
He said the board did not want to comment now on the
players' denials, but added: "We hope and pray that
these allegations are not true because these two players
have done so much for Sri Lankan and world cricket."
Ranatunga retired from the game earlier this year after a
career spanning 18 years.
He was one of the most popular players in the country
after leading his team to victory over Australia in the 1996
World Cup final.
Mail Cricket Editor
(C) 2000 Reuters Limited. All rights reserved. Republication or redistribution of Reuters content, including by framing or similiar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Reuters. Reuters and the Reuters Sphere logo are registered trademarks and trademarks of the Reuters group of companies around the world.
